Sabrina Howard, 40, of Muncie has been charged with neglect of a dependent and causing suicide, both felonies, after investigators say she caused her suicidal son to take a handful of her prescription medication, then failed to render aid.

Police say that on July 10, Howard confronted her son, Charles Howard, about 20 missing Xanax, and 26 missing Lortabs. She said her son denied taking them, but that he had “slow speech” and appeared “groggy.” Before he fell asleep on the couch, she warned him that if he had consumed that amount, then he had taken enough to kill him.

Despite this, Howard did not call for help and left him sleeping on the couch. She told investigators she would check on him periodically, but called 911 eight hours later when she noticed he was not breathing and had turned an unnatural shade of gray.…